Athersley North Primary School
Lindhurst Road, Athersley North, Barnsley, S71 3NB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Miss Kirsty Wordsworth
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Barnsley North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 280
- Pupils on roll
- 290
- URN
- 131157
- Local authority
- Barnsley
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01226288674
About this school
Athersley North Primary School is a community primary school in Barnsley. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 290 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Athersley North Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 39 | 40 | 41 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 51% | 25% | 49% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 0% | 2% |
| Expected standard in reading | 64% | 40% | 54% |
| Expected standard in maths | 69% | 50% | 59% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 74% | 48% | 54% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 99.0 | 101.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 99.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.10 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Athersley North Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Barnsley average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 51% | 61.1% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 25% | 60.6% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 49% | 64.1% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 318 |
| 2023/24 | 300 |
| 2024/25 | 289 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Athersley North Primary School compares
Athersley North Primary School ranked 68th of 73 primary schools in Barnsley for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 20% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49% | 8.3% | 58.2% | 290 | — |
| Laithes Primary School | 68% | 7.3% | 54.1% | 308 | 0.5 miles |
| Athersley South Primary School | 66% | 6.5% | 40.4% | 306 | 0.6 miles |
| Mapplewell Primary School | 76% | 4.2% | 12.3% | 343 | 0.7 miles |
| Wellgate Primary School | 72% | 6.3% | 23.5% | 424 | 1.0 miles |
| Wilthorpe Primary School | 71% | 5.5% | 21.6% | 394 | 1.3 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report19 May 2026
- 24 May 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 58.17%
- English as an additional language
- 9.7%
- Overall absence
- 8.25%
- Persistent absence
- 21.7%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Laithes Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Barnsley
-
Athersley South Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Barnsley
-
Mapplewell Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Barnsley
-
Wellgate Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Barnsley
-
Wilthorpe Primary School1.3 miles
Primary · Barnsley
Other schools in Barnsley
Athersley North Primary School ranks 56th of the 59 ranked primary schools in Barnsley.
- All Saints Academy Darfield Primary
- Athersley South Primary School Primary
- Bank End Primary Academy Primary
- Barugh Green Primary School Primary
- Birdwell Primary School Primary
- Birkwood Primary School Primary
- Brampton Cortonwood Infant School Primary
- Brierley Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Burton Road Primary School Primary
- Carlton Primary Academy Primary
- Cawthorne Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Cherry Dale Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Athersley North Primary School teach?
- Athersley North Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Barnsley.
- Who is the headteacher of Athersley North Primary School?
- The headteacher of Athersley North Primary School is Miss Kirsty Wordsworth, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Athersley North Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Athersley North Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Athersley North Primary School?
- Athersley North Primary School has 290 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Athersley North Primary School full?
- Athersley North Primary School has capacity for 280 pupils and 290 on roll (104%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Athersley North Primary School a faith school?
- No. Athersley North Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Athersley North Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Athersley North Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Athersley North Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 51% in 2022/23 and 49% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Athersley North Primary School compare with other schools in Barnsley?
- Athersley North Primary School ranked 68th of 73 primary schools in Barnsley for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 20% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Athersley North Primary School's absence rate?
- Athersley North Primary School's overall absence rate is 8.3% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Athersley North Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Athersley North Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 13 August 2026.